Cancer cases to double in region by 2030
EXPERTS DECLARE WAR ON CANCER AND PLAN STRATEGY TO COMBAT THE SCOURGE
There have been 555,000 new cases and 330,000 mortalities in Middle East since 2012
Cancer incidence in the Middle East, including the UAE, is on the rise with the number of cases expected to double by 2030, according to the World Health Organisation (WHO).
Addressing the War on Cancer Middle East conference in Dubai this week, Dina Mired, head of the Union for International Cancer Control, said: “There have been 555,000 new cancer cases and 330,000 mortalities in the region since 2012. The number is set to double by 2030, according to WHO. Over 70 per cent of the people in the region are dying of cancer.”
In the UAE alone, according to the last statistics released by the Health Department of Abu Dhabi, there are approximately 4,500 new cases of cancer reported every year, with most being breast, colorectal and lung cancers. In 2012, cancer was the third leading cause of deaths in Abu Dhabi.
Reducing cancer-related deaths is one of the key performance indicators in the UAE National Agenda 2021 based on the 2013 figures provided by the WHO.
The UAE aims to reduce cancer fatalities by nearly 18 per cent to 64.2 deaths per 100,000 people by 2021 from 78 deaths per 100,000 people currently.
The third edition of the War on Cancer Middle East conference focused on the challenges of putting a proper blueprint in place to fight the scourge.
Vivek Muthu, chief adviser of the Economist Intelligence Unit, which organised the event, cautioned that a proper strategy for documenting data, preventive screening, sustainable financing, quality treatment protocols and high standards of palliative care were the need of the hour.
“Obesity, poor awareness of cancer, environment, bad lifestyle choices and cultural issues like fatalism are some of the challenges in the region and we have to remember three things — system, sustainability and outcome — which are the three most important tools in this war,” Muthu said.
Joseph William Asseily, head of the Children’s Cancer Centre of Lebanon, said cancer in many children could be prevented by protecting them from passive smoking, using safe pesticides, protecting them from harsh solar heat and providing them preventive screening but nothing was being done.
Nisreen Qatamis, directorgeneral of the King Hussain Cancer Foundation, one of the leading cancer hospitals of the region, said that it was important for governments of all leading countries of the region to provide affordable cancer care to the people and provide them health insurance that covered the high cost of quality treatment protocols.